If you don't know Leila Roy and her blog Bookshelves of Doom, then perhaps you're new to the Kidlitosphere, or seriously missing out. Leila has been a Cybil-ite from the first year, and she posts primarily about YA books and related news, as well as being a reviewer for Kirkus. Fun Fact: she also makes really cool bookish handmade items, …
REVIEW: Take Two!: A Celebration of Twins by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
Carol Wilcox, who brings us today's featured book review, is another Cybils regular. A literacy coach and reading intervention teacher, she's been blogging at Carol's Corner since 2007, and in addition to posting a variety of reviews, she also participates in Poetry Friday. Fun fact: her very first blog post mentions wanting to be a judge for Cybils! Recently, she …
What Being a Cybils Judge Is Really Like
Not everyone can be chosen as a Cybils judge. There are only so many spots available, and we like to populate them with both veterans and newbies, and we really do get a LOT of applicants, so we unfortunately can't pick everyone. We know you guys know that. BUT: if you haven't participated yet and you're wondering what it's actually …
REVIEW
The Impossible Rescue by Martin W. Sandler
Today's featured review was written by Louise Capizzo, a Round 1 judge for MG/YA Nonfiction and a blogger at The Nonfiction Detectives. She's a returnee from last year's Cybils Awards, but when she's not Cybil-ing she's a Youth Services Librarian at a public library in Maine. Fun Fact: She's written book reviews for both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. Recently, …
Happy Thanksgiving from the Cybils!
In between cooking, eating, and reading, dare I say, a cornucopia of nominated titles, we here at the Cybils wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! For our part, we're not only grateful for our legions of devoted volunteers, but also to the authors and illustrators who lend their hearts to creating wonderful books and apps, and the readers whose …
REVIEW
Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
Janssen Bradshaw of Everyday Reading, a Round 1 judge for Nonfiction Picture Books, is our featured blogger for the day. She's been blogging since 2006, she's a onetime elementary school librarian who lives in Austin with her husband and young daughter, and she loves blogging about books and food. Fun Fact: She's also a regular contributor of posts about parenting …
REVIEW
Rebel McKenzie by Candice Ransom
Our featured review for today comes from The Show Me Librarian, which is the blog of Round 1 Middle Grade Fiction judge Amy Koester. Amy is a professional children's librarian in Missouri, and on her blog she reviews books and graphic novels for children and young adults, as well as posting about literacy, library programming, and other related topics. Fun …
Meet This Year’s Poetry Judges
Our Poetry Category Chair, Jone MacCulloch, has posted part one of what will be a three-part series interviewing some of her panelists in the Poetry category. Wondering who these folks are and what they're looking for in a poetry nominee? Here's a brief excerpt of the interview on Jone's blog, Check It Out: MsMac [aka Jone]: What is your day …
REVIEW
Cardboard by DougTenNapel
Allie Jones, a Round 1 judge for Graphic Novels, has a blog title we can all relate to: In Bed With Books. You might know her by her online handle Liviania; on her blog she reviews a wide range of books and graphic novels, both YA and grown-up, and also posts interviews and other items of kidlit interest. Fun Fact: …
Cybils Midterm Progress Report
Greetings, and welcome to the halfway point of the Cybils reading period! Wondering how many nominees we ended up with after the publisher submission period? Curious about how quickly (or slowly) we're proceeding? Hows about a quick update on how we're doing so far? As of last night: Total eligible books across all categories: 1374, 1074 of which were public …